Getting Your Face Out There

Youth columnist Jessy Thurston takes a look at self-promotion on social media, through the beautifully made-up eyes of a Shore student make up artist...

Social media has become a very useful tool for businesses and people who are wanting to gain followers for their product or brand.

Although there is a common belief that social media is something that only teenagers and the younger generation use for entertainment, this is not the case. Social media marketing is making its way into the best of businesses, and many people are utilising the online platforms because of their advantages of showing what companies, and people, can do. Promoting a business or organisation online has become one of the best ways to communicate to a widespread audience in the 21st century, and the rapidly developing technology means businesses are smart to keep up with the ever changing times.

Tina Yang is an 18 year-old from Northcote who is using social media to promote her talent. Finding her passion at 15 through her previous love of painting and art, Tina discovered that she could swap her paint brushes for makeup brushes and create a different kind of art and is now pursuing a career as a makeup artist.

“I’ve always enjoyed art and painting. Once I started playing with makeup I realised it was the same thing, but just on a different canvas. Instead of a flat 2D blank canvas, it’s art on a 3D live face with different shadows. Makeup and painting use similar art techniques of manipulating shadows and light; it’s really fun to see how you can manipulate them with makeup to change the shape of the face.”

The drive that Northcote College student Tina has to pursue her love of makeup as a career, pushed her to continue learning. She spent time teaching herself new skills from YouTube videos made by other modern makeup artists who share their ideas through video tutorials online. She then went on to learn outside her bedroom. She says: “I applied for some holiday makeup courses during school holidays. I did three holiday courses this year at the Samala Robinson Academy, which included an introduction to makeup, makeup in tv/film and fashion makeup. These courses were a really good introduction to the different types/genres of makeup techniques.”

Social media was a brilliant way for Tina to advertise her talent and also proved to be useful in grabbing the attention of bigger brands, as well as other makeup artists who admired her work.

Tina says: “A benefit of using social media to share my work is that it’s much easier to gain exposure on social media platforms as you are able to interact with your own followers. Social media is also an awesome way to connect with other brands and pages.”

Online platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter are free, and a way to share photos or ideas to create a build up of followers. It can be useful for connecting with people on a business, as well as a personal, level and is the easiest way to reach out to a large audience in 2017.

Tina uses Instagram as her platform of choice and regularly posts photos of different makeup looks. “I’m not really interested in using any others [social media platforms] currently. It’s much easier to interact with followers on Instagram as it is a very popular social media platform, especially in the makeup industry.” She also says that the decision to use social media as a way to share her looks came naturally, as the majority of people now have access to at least one social media account, especially younger users.

The aim for Tina in the long run is to become a certified makeup artist and be able to freelance with her work. Although social media is just the beginning, it is proving to be successful in building followers and potential clients. Tina has already been noticed by companies who have sent her free products to review. This has benefits both ways – for the makeup artists trying to promote themselves and the companies wanting to promote their products. Tina says it can be simple to get the attention of bigger brands over social media by using their products and promoting them on her page.

Instagram is easily accessible through the mobile app and Tina enjoys spreading the word abut her creative talents from the comfort of her own home here on the Shore. “I like being able to share my work for others to enjoy the makeup looks I produce and for them to appreciate the art behind it! Being able to inspire others to experiment with makeup would also be amazing,” Tina says when asked about what she hopes some of the benefits her makeup work will bring.

Tina's Insta account is @tinay.ang if you want to see more of her work.